Tesoro Cibola
Street Price $450 - Coin, relic
Number of Reviews: 42
on 5 pages.
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Best garage sale find...and my best detector!
Eddie in Belleville, IL -I bought my like new Cibola last summer at a garage sale. The woman who sold it to me was really bitter at her ex husband who had left her for a much younger woman. She said he had used the detector one time and since then it had gathered dust in the garage and he didn't take it when he moved out. You don't care about this and I really didn't either, but I let the woman vent and wound up getting this amazing detector (and accessories including a bag, digger, pouch and apron) for $50!
I've been detecting for a little over 3 years now, and it's a rare week when I don't get in at least 10 hours. I don't claim to be an expert, but I feel like I'm getting pretty good at this.
When I bought my Cibola, my original intention was to use it a couple times to check it out and then sell it for a nice profit. New Cibolas go for over $300 so I knew I'd come out well. At the time I bought this I had 3 other detectors (and had sold off 2 others) and I couldn't imagine using a detector without a visual ID.
But a funny thing happened the first time I used the Cibola. I found some really good stuff and was having some major fun. Without a screen to look at I discovered sounds and the more I use the Cibola the more I learn about its nuances. I've gotten to where before I dig (or don't dig) I can call a pulltab of either type as well as a bottle cap or screw cap. With the Cibola, coins hit hard and make an unmistakable sound. It's also a ring magnet - I've found 9 rings with it in about a year compared to 4 that I had found in the two years before with other detectors.
I've used Garrett, Minelab, and White's as main detectors. I've found good stuff with them and they all had their good points, but since I invariably kept going to the Cibola and I'm not a wealthy person I went ahead and sold my other units a couple months ago and bought a small coil for my Cibola. I haven't regretted my decision.
The Cibola is the lightest detector I've ever used. On those occasions when I'm able to get out for a full 8-10 hour day with my best buddy and hunting partner the lightness and ease of use is really appreciated. My buddy uses a Garrett GTI 2500 which is Garrett's top of the line and a very good machine with tons of bells and whistles. Before I got the Cibola I considered getting one but at almost a thousand dollars the cost was prohibitive. He always found significantly more than I did until I got the Cibola and since then I'm actually slightly ahead of him!
The Cibola has the best trash separation and pinpointing of any detector I've ever used. I have the 8X9 stock coil and recently added the little 5.75 concentric coil which is not as deep as the stock but is absolutely amazing in trashy areas and tot lots.
As I've gotten more experienced with this unit, I've become more proficient at running the unit "hot" in older areas I detect with the sensitivity turned up to 10 or higher and the threshold turned way up too. This gives me a lot more chatter, but it also seriously increases the depth of this unit. If the area is too trashy or the ground too mineralized, I still have to turn it down. But in moderate to lightly trashy areas I crank it up. Doing it this way last weekend I made my deepest find yet. With the sensitivity just past 10 and the threshold most of the way up I got a light but repeatable signal that wouldn't discriminate out. I supertuned the Cibola (turned the sensitivity and threshold all the way up) and the signal got stronger. As I kept digging deeper I kept prodding with my pinpointer and not getting any signal but when I waved my detector over the hole the signal stayed strong. When I got to about 9 inches I pushed down into the soft ground with the pinpointer and finally got a vibration. As I carefully kept digging I pulled out a 1928 Mercury dime at a measured and unexaggerated 10 inches! Although I got a quarter before with my Xterra at 10 inches, the Cibola is the only machine that has gotten me deeper than 8 inches on any coin smaller than a quarter. Admittedly, we had several inches of rain the week before so I'm sure that helped the Cibola get deeper. But a dime at 10 inches is impressive and says a whole lot about the surpringly deep power of this machine.
I would highly recommend this machine to anyone - newbie or experienced. They call detectors like this without an ID display "beep and dig" but that's really a misnomer. This machine should be called a "beep and dig or don't dig" machine because once you learn what this machine is telling you, you won't be digging much trash unless you want to remove junk that is possibly masking good targets.
One more thing I love about this machine. I like to use a fast sweep speed and this machine handles that perfectly without missing anything. It has lightning fast recovery time.
I try to never say never, but short of another garage sale bargain for resale, I don't see myself buying another detector for a long long time.
Sep 10, 2008
51 Yes
1 No
Cibola
Brian Cavill in England -I have had the Cibola for 2 years now. Before a Minlab Explorer. The Cibola beats that hands down for ease of use and more finds made. Depth is very good. i.e.A George V halfcrown measured in at 11 inches. A Roman Sestertius at 9 inches in nail infested soil.Very good on small coins missed by other machines. I use my machine with the coil reversed to offset the weight problem mentioned in one review.
Brian
Aug 08, 2008
10 Yes
4 No
Cibola user notes
Mike S in Tracy, CA -I bought a new Cibola about 2 months ago. I thought I would share my experiences with it. It's very easy to use. Anyone can get the hang of it pretty fast. There is no display at all. There is no change in tones when you are over a quarter or a penny or a nickel. When in all metal mode a high pitch squeal usually means a large target. Like a can. But in normal detecting/discriminator mode it either beeps or it doesn't. The discriminator works like a giant volume control. If you set it high you will get coins and bottlecaps in parks. If you set it to read nickels I hope you like digging.
I am going to get a higher end machine with a visual and good audio based system. I will save the Cibola for visitors with no detecting experience.
Jul 14, 2008
3 Yes
12 No
Recommended beginner detector tesoro silver umax
glenn in middle tennessee usa -I highly recommend the silver umax it is super sensitive. It will find precious metals...rings both gold and silver. old and modern coins and is excellent for relic hunting. Get the 5.75 and 9x8 coils. one for trashy areas and the other to search deeper, it wont let you down. Research is the key.
May 19, 2008
6 Yes
9 No
Garrett master hunter 7
keith in glide,oregon -
I have a 1990 Garrett master hunter 7. One of the last great analog detectors. The power in the vlf mode is insane! In an air test, it will detect a metal post from 3 feet away. This model in my opinion is not great for coins, but for relic hunting it is super. I run it with the power all the way up and the discriminating all the way down, with a 8 inch coil. In a heavy area it will sound off almost every foot, finding all sorts of things, its best near or in old ghost towns or old homesteads or out in the desert.
May 09, 2008
3 Yes
17 No
Excellent machine!
Nathan in Logan, UT USA -I have had this machine for about six weeks now and I love it. I have compared it to Bounty Hunter's Discovery 1100, and Garret's Ace 250 and this one is my preference. This machine has gone DEEP. I have found small copper pieces at 14 inches down. In six weeks I have found about $70.00 in clad, a couple silver rings, and two gold plated pendants. I can't wait for warmer weather and better locations to hunt. This machine will pay for itself in a few more weeks. I love it!!!
Apr 26, 2008
5 Yes
2 No
Cibola High Tone mod Excellent choice!!
Charles Hattaway in Mullins,SC -I owned a Cibola a few years ago and sold it, I was accustomed to all the bells and whistles of the digital machines and really did not give it a chance "bad decision". I ordered another this week with the High tone factory mod which I like a 100% better. I took it out for a few hours today in a few super trashy areas around some old house sites I thought I hunted out with my Id Excel,that's what I get for thinking. Pulled up 3 Mercury dimes less than a foot apart at around 5 inches, two were actually together, 4 wheaties, 2 which were around 7-8 inches and about 8 clad coins. Quite impressive considering I've hunted that area many times. I never had any problems with mineralization and was able to run sensitivity on 10 and super tuning is pretty amazing "DEEP", found a 1 inch piece of copper tubing at over 9 inches, just think it could have been a large cent?? I used pinpointing very little,not saying it's useless but you just know where to dig according to the sound in relation to the coil. As far as coins, all gave a double blip right in the center of the coil,larger objects "cans" give a longer beep and extend out further from the center of the coil. All and all I give the machine 5 stars, it has already whipped my Id Excel in every test I've put it through including discrimination, overall depth and sensitivity. I know choosing a detector is hard, I did alot of research before buying this detector and could have spent alot more than $355 in another bells and whistles machine, now I happy I did not. I'm sure me and the Cibola will spent a ton of quality time together. Happy hunting!!
Feb 02, 2008
42 Yes
3 No
Really Like Mine
Richard in Va. in Virginia -My Cibola does what it is supposed to. It air-tests as good as any machine out there. Works good in the field, also.
Jan 26, 2008
7 Yes
4 No
Cibola
Donald in nyc -I've used this detector from April to sept 25th of this year. My coil of choice for the beach is the 3x18" as it covers a tremendous amount of area + goes to 8" deep which is more than enough for dry sand detecting. It can also be used in the wet sand to a certain extent.
I found it to be light, easy to pinpoint with (even with the 3x18 coil), and has great battery life. All in all I am very happy with this machine.
Jan 15, 2008
11 Yes
2 No
Super Cibola
f.bailey in uk -What a great detector, I've had fishers, whites, troys, and the cibola beats them all. Great on small hammered coins etc. Very good depth and a pleasure to use. For the price you cant go wrong.
Nov 10, 2007
16 Yes
1 No